Twitter tells employees not to tweet about Elon Musk deal

Following Elon Musk’s notice to Twitter that he wants out of his $44 billion deal to purchase the company, employees have been instructed to not publicly comment on the deal. An internal memo by Twitter’s general counsel and obtained by The Verge says that staffers should “refrain from Tweeting, Slacking, or sharing any commentary about the merger agreement.”

The note, which you can read in full below, cites the fact that the merger is an ongoing legal matter. Musk’s team alleges that the company “failed or refused to provide” information about the number of bots on its platform,” and Twitter’s board has announced that it’s suing Musk to ensure that the deal goes through as originally agreed.

After the news broke Friday that Musk wanted out of the deal, Twitter employees quickly made some pretty humorous tweets about the situation. One tweeted they had “unilaterally cancelled my mortgage” and were happy they didn’t have to pay it anymore, referring to the fact that it’s very unclear whether Musk can legally just say “nah” and walk away. Another tweet referred to a staff trip to Disney that was canceled as a cost-cutting measure after the Musk deal was announced.

Here’s the memo sent that Sean Edgett, Twitter’s general counsel, sent to staff on Friday:

Team,

Today we received a notice of purported termination from Elon Musk, and the Twitter Board issued the following statement in response (see our Chairman Bret Taylor’s Tweet here):

“The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.”

Given that this is an ongoing legal matter, you should refrain from Tweeting, Slacking, or sharing any commentary about the merger agreement. We will continue to share information when we are able, but please know we are going to be very limited on what we can share in the meantime.

I know this is an uncertain time, and we appreciate your patience and ongoing commitment to the important work we have underway.